


Peanuts

by saranmaglyn



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, Developing Relationship, F/F, Older lesbians, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25526605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saranmaglyn/pseuds/saranmaglyn
Summary: A short story/one shot set before Broadchurch season 2 based on a bowl of peanuts seen in Jocelyn's home.
Relationships: Jocelyn Knight/Maggie Radcliffe
Comments: 10
Kudos: 90





	Peanuts

**Author's Note:**

> set some time before season 2  
> a silly idea turned into a fanfiction connecting the characters even more with each other

Frustrated she hangs up the phone. Parties just aren't her kind of thing; never have been. Why can't Maggie understand that? There would have to be a very good reason for Jocelyn to ever socialise that much. She simply isn't good with people, with doing smalltalk. And dancing? No way. And Maggie begging her over the phone won't change her opinion. She just wants to sit on the sofa with a nice book and a hot tea and enjoy her quiet evening. 

While the kettle is rattling, Jocelyn looks out of the window out onto the blue sea which is becoming a mix of warm colours thanks to a setting sun. This view is something she will never get tired of. Her thoughts start to wander and she pictures Maggie getting ready, applying some mascara and lipstick. A smile forms on her lips without her realising. The declining noise of the kettle pulls her back into the room and she swiftly shakes her head to get those thoughts out. Why were they even there?  
She grabs her favourite mug and pours the hot water into it, adding the tea bag afterwards. Her favourite mug; a mug given to her many years ago by Maggie Radcliffe that is. It's a unicum which the journalist got her from a small pottery. She is always so thoughtful.   
Jocelyn picks up the mug and walks over to her sofa where she places it on the nearest table. Many books are clattered on it as well and she takes the one lying on top. Her fingers draw across the top of the pages until she reaches the bookmark leading her to the spot she left off before Maggie called her. She pulls a warm blanket around her slender body, puts on her reading glasses and starts reading…

A sudden knock disturbs the wonderful silence Jocelyn has found herself in for the past couple of hours. She takes a look at the clock on the opposite side of the room. Nearly one in the morning! Goodness, she hadn't even realised how late it was already. But that's what happens when captured by a good story. Also, it raises the question who the hell knocks on her door at this time of day. Night. She puts the book away, withdraws the blanket and stands up. Her limbs hurt a little from sitting here so long with barely any movement. Slowly, she stretches herself before walking to the door. On her way over, she glimpses out of the window to see who caused this disturbance. All she can see is the back of a head with shoulder-length blonde hair. 

“You've gotta be joking...” Jocelyn murmurs to herself.

What is Maggie bloody Radcliffe doing here? She did not intend to speak to her in person today. What possibly could she want? Give her a hard time for not joining the party and trying to make her feel guilty?   
She unlocks the door, takes a deep breath and opens it.  
Maggie is standing there, a smug expression on her face, eyes sparkling with joy and indicating a great evening, and a… bowl in her hands? An empty bowl nevertheless. Whatever could this mean?

“Hi!” Maggie exclaims joyously.

“Hi.” Jocelyn replies, letting out a little bit of a sigh. “Why are you here, Maggie? At this hour?” Her voice sounds slightly annoyed. She isn't a big fan of late night visits like that, especially surprise visits.

“VERY good question, petal.” the editor says, pointing her index finger at the barrister. A big smile appears. 

Jocelyn raises her eyebrows. Maggie is definitely drunk. Or at least tipsy. She lets out a sigh again and crosses her arms in front of her body.   
“Well?” she asks because Maggie doesn't continue answering the question by herself.

“It's a bowl!” Maggie replies proudly.

“Yeah, I can see that. But what exactly is it doing here in your hands at 1am in front of my house? Where did you even get it?”   
For goodness sake, why can't this woman just tell her all the necessary information? Usually you can't get her to shut up and now Jocelyn has to ask for every single detail.  
Maggie leans in, raises a hand to Jocelyn's ear and whispers:

“I took it. From the party.” A short giggle. “As a souvenir for you.” 

She draws back and looks at Jocelyn with big eyes and a grin.

“You didn't want to come so I decided to bring this to you to remind you of what fun you missed. Here!” Maggie stretches out her arm and hands Jocelyn the bowl who grudgingly takes it. Jocelyn notices some leftover peanuts in it. That woman is out of her mind. 

“So you stole a peanut bowl to make me feel miserable and guilty? Right, thank you very much. Is that all, then? Or do you have any more surprises for me tonight?”

Maggie freezes for a hot second. There is one thing she would like to give her favourite barrister along with the bowl. Suddenly her mind is all clear. She looks at Jocelyn, at her beautiful gray-blue eyes, her slightly frizzy hair and the soft, sensual lips. She is dying to plant a kiss on them and touch Jocelyn's beautiful body. But she can't. She snaps out of her thoughts and back into reality. 

“Nope. Just the bowl. Have fun with it!” she smirks and winks at the woman standing in front of her. “Good night!” she says and blows her a kiss. She just couldn't stop herself in time. Oh well, there are worse things.

“Night. Get some sleep, Maggie.” Jocelyn replies, trying to suppress the little excitement brought to her by this unusual gesture. 

Maggie turns on her heels, walks around the house and down the path to the town and her own home. She's happy and carefree like a little child. And why not, for one night? There's enough time tomorrow to regret the choices of today.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn has closed the door after waiting for Maggie to disappear behind the corner. The bowl is still in her hand. It's a weird shape. Kind of flat for a bowl. Completely white. Just a very simple bowl that fits with anything. She walks into the kitchen and throws the few peanuts into the bin, then takes a cloth and cleans it. And then she just stares at it and lets her fingers run along the edges. That silly woman. She lets out a short laugh and takes the bowl up to her heart, pressing it against her, a smile on her lips. A minute or so goes by until Jocelyn decides to put the bowl on the table in front of her TV. She's gotten quite tired and doesn't know where else to put it right now. So, there it goes and she makes her way upstairs to finally get to bed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
a couple weeks later  
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Walking up the path to the house, Maggie's heart starts to beat faster. And she hates it. Well, hate-love. The last time she saw Jocelyn was when she drunkenly turned up at her door late at night to give her a bowl. The only time they spoke since then was on the phone, to arrange this meeting. Just to talk, like the good old times. Maggie stops for a minute and watches the waves crash onto the beach. What she would give to wake up and look at this every day. She turns around and looks at the house. Jocelyn's house. Jocelyn. The butterflies in her stomach get wilder. She'd give anything to just be with her but she needs to respect Jocelyn's boundaries. And she can see that the woman she loves so much isn't ready. Yet.   
The journalist takes a deep breath and continues to walk to the gate to the garden, opens it (Jocelyn still hasn't put a lock on it) and makes her way to the huge sliding windows. The curtains are open but she can't see the barrister so she knocks on them to let her know she's here before entering. Jocelyn comes through the door dressed in an apron and smiling opens the windows.

“Hello! You're right on time.” she says to Maggie, who grins at the sight in front of her. 

“Yes, you know me, I don't like to be late to important meetings. What's with the apron? You're not cooking, are you?” Maggie teases. It's a good thing to get Jocelyn to eat properly, so seeing her cook is mindblowing.

“Don't act so surprised, I know some things too. And I very well need to eat every day, too, don't I?” 

“Well, who would've thought. Wonders never cease with the great Jocelyn Knight.” she says grinning.

Jocelyn looks at her sternly but very fast turns her expression into a smile while slightly shaking her head. She makes her way back into the kitchen to fill the plates.

“What are we having, then, petal? I'm excited!” says Maggie while following the barrister.

“Just some carbonara and wine. It'll do. Are you disappointed now?”

“No, why would I be? That sounds lovely. Where would you like to eat?”

“I think the dining room should be fine. Would you take the wine in already?”

“Of course, petal.” Maggie grabs the already opened bottle and two glasses and walks over to the dining room. She stops abruptly when hit by the sight of a completely clattered dining table. She sighs and puts down the stuff in her hand in a small, empty spot before clearing some space for the plates. While doing so, she discovers a small, white bowl filled with peanuts. Could it be? Yes, it most definitely could. That is the bowl she took from the party. And Jocelyn uses it! For some reason, this little fact makes her very happy. Jocelyn is that kind of person who might have also just thrown something like this away but she didn't. Maggie can't help but smile when she lays the table. She tries to hide it when Jocelyn suddenly enters the room with two plates and cutlery in her hands.   
Jocelyn spots the bowl and stops for a moment, thinking “shit, why did I have to leave it here?”. She then proceeds to put down the plates and forks and spoons and sits down. Maggie does the same on the other side of the table. But she can't simply ignore the fact of the bowl actually still being here.

“I see you kept my little gift…?” Maggie asks shyly, she doesn't even know why.

“Oh. Yeah. It is kind of annoying though because I have nowhere to put it.” Jocelyn hopes she won't ask any more about it while twirling her fork in her spaghetti.

“But you keep it still? You could've just thrown it out, I wouldn't be mad. … Why are you keeping it anyway?” She just needs to know if the bowl actually means something to Jocelyn. Her heart is beating faster again. Her thoughts spiraling as she looks at her friend who is still wearing that cute chequered apron.  
Jocelyn doesn't know how to respond. “Because I love you!”, she thinks. “Because it's from YOU, my favourite human being in the entire world.” is what she would like to say but she just can not do it. She is dying to say what she is feeling but it's not possible. Maggie's eyes linger on her, she can feel it. Her beautiful blue eyes.

“Reasons.” she proceeds to say. Stupid.

“Reasons? Okay… And these reasons being…?” 

For goodness sake, why can't Maggie let it go? It's just a bowl! Jocelyn's heart aches.

“Well, it's filled with peanuts, isn't it? There you go. That's a reason. And just because I don't really know where to put it doesn't mean I don't like it, okay? Eat your carbonara now or it will get cold, alright?” Hopefully that will put an end to the bowl conversation.

“Okay, okay, I was just wondering.” Maggie smiles. It means something to Jocelyn. The bowl. 

They eat, drink, talk and share laughters until Maggie has to get back to finish work at the paper. The only thing not shared: their true feelings.  
Jocelyn accompanies Maggie to her gate and looks at the back of her head with a loving gaze. Her blonde hair waves in the wind and glows golden in the sun which has begun to set. Her heart tells her to reach into the gold and pull the woman around to kiss her but she can't bring herself to it. Then Maggie turns around herself and their eyes meet.

“Well, thank you for a wonderful dinner. It was very delicious.” Maggie states.

“Thanks. And I very much enjoyed talking with you again. I missed this.” 

“I did too. Let's make it a more regular thing again?” She hopes Jocelyn says yes. She wants to see her much more than just once every couple of weeks. She needs to.

“Yes, absolutely. Call me whenever you have time, hm?” Jocelyn replies. That is just what she wants as well and she is so glad Maggie feels the same.  
“And now, off you go, you need to finish a newspaper!” she adds, smiling at Maggie. 

“Yes, you're right, of course. See you, then.” she says but hesitating to leave immediately. She goes up to Jocelyn and gives her a kiss on the cheek, steps back and nervously smiles at her before turning around. Jocelyn smiles too. She is surprised but liked it. A lot.

Maggie starts to walk down the path, her heart racing and the butterflies going crazy inside of her. She looks back one more time and sees Jocelyn still looking at her and raising her hand for a wave which she happily gives back. Looking forward again, she puts her hands in her jacket, lets out a happy sigh and can't help but smile for the rest of the day.

Jocelyn keeps standing at the gate until she can't see Maggie anymore. When she's vanished, she goes back up the steps to her patio and sits down on the little stone wall, her hand pressed on her breast, feeling her heart beat underneath. With the other hand she touches the spot that Maggie's lips have just touched as well. Her smile grows bigger. Does Maggie really love her the way she loves Maggie? It might just be. Oh, what a way to end this day.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed my little story. this is the first time i ever wrote fanfiction and english is not my first language, so... please be kind :')


End file.
